Plow with rotary stalk cutter



1951 G. D. ALvA'REz PLOW WITH ROTARY STALK CUTTER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 FiledAug. 16, 1948 .ZNVENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

Oct. 23, 1951 G. D. ALVAREZ PLOW WITH ROTARY STALK CUTTER 2 SHEETS-SHEET2 Filed Aug. 16, 1948 'INVENTOR.

ATTO/E'NEM Patented Oct. 23, 1951 Application August-"16, 1948; SerialNo. 44,573 In Cuba July 2311948"- 3.Claims.. (CI. 97-35 The invention isrelated to improvements in cultivator .plows of the'type known in theart for thewcultivationof ,the land :and more specifically for.br eakingup, plow ridges close to the cane plants and stems and loosening up theearth in cane fields harvested in previous years and covered. with thecane trash which forming a thick .and. matted litter makes plowingorcultivating operations extremely. difficult.

Due .to the fact thateveryicane'field after the firstcutting-or-harvestingof=the cane presents a great accumulation :of driedcane leaves which greatly hinders the .work of the plow when cultivatingsaid fields. andloosening the earth close to the cane stalks unless saidlitter of cane leaves is first removed, generally-byh'and, I haveprovid'edmeans which while the plow is being drawn alongcuts said caneleaves as they rise on the share towards the plow throat.

One of the most'iinport'ant' advantages of the improvements incultivator plows inventedlby me consists in the vfact that the litterof'cane leaves covering the ground on being raised by the action ofafiXe'd blade .as theplow moves forward, rapidly cut'by the movablecutters working in cooperation'withsai'd fixed blade and' fallsback totheground wherei't'o'ccupies its original position, withoutb'eing rolledalong or accumulating at different points; remaining as before theground was plowed, forming a thick,

uniform covering that I retains -the moisturein the ground and preventsthe growth ofgrass-andweeds thus'producingtgreat economyjinzthecultivation of-the cane.

Sincetheplow does not possessa mouldb'oard it does not-form furrows sothat the share simply breaks up the earth beneatnrthe .litter' of .caneleaves,. without exposing the .s'oilLto sunlight or air and allowing itto retain its moisture, already stated.

Another advantage is: dueto the lightness and rapidity-with which theplow-can be worked inbreaking up the ground on account of the mechanicalworking of the cutters driven at a high velocity by the motor of thetractor that draws the plow or, if preferred, by an independent motorattached to the plow, it being preferable to employ the motor of thetractor because this arrangement simplifies the equipment and both thconnections and the driving are easier to perform.

Up to the present several experiments and trials have been made in anefiort to obtain the results attained by me, that is the elimination ofthe obstacles represented by the litter of cane 2'; leaves andparticularly those fields where the cane *has beer-rharvested -for' morethan --three seasons," insom-of them-recourse has been had. to theburning o-fsaid'cane litter but, logically this" burning-ofthe litterhas left the-ground completely exposed and dry,- besides allowinggrassand weeds'*-to*inv'ad the field. In: saideisperimen-ts *thecultivator" plows have-been fur n-ished 'w-itl'r=straw cuttingdises-attaehed to the forward end' of the-plow; that -is,-close tothespur "of the share;-but-d-ue--tothe ineffective and useless workof-the-sametliey have been abandonech the'd-mprovement invented-by the Iprovide a cutting A device comprising a stationary cutting bladeattached-to "the plow beam and to the plow. share, and rotary cutters--consisting of two or morearrns or; ifpreferredta' circular saw, said-1cuttingelements actuating om 1 the stationary cutting blade previously:mentioned; Said arms] orcircular saw being-tamoveduby the. actiorr.of-athe motor that drawssthemlow or; .if preferred by :a motor mountedpnthezp10wzitse1f,.. but, .as stated. before; it is preferable-rtoeemploythe power sup.-v plied by -the-tractor.-

Instead of .theucutters-mentioned there may be employed :cutte-rs thatfunction as scissors or .a. reciprocatingzecutter .ofzrthe guillotinetype, in: cooperationawithlthecfixed blade; .the power for theisam'eibeing. supplieda-by either of the :two: methods previouslnmen tioned.These andother features of my inventioriwwill be" presently, de-'scribed in :detail with reference-to .the twosheets ofodrawings,annexedatorthis specification and in, which'isimilar reference.characters identity thesame parts: the: viewsein' which said partsappear. Inthe drawi 'l s-z Figure 1 is @alateralielevationrofthe plow orcultivatorwith the devioe attached, as seen from the side of" the share;

Figure 3 is a partial side view-aottheplow-of Figure-:1;.as eseenufromtheaside opposite-to that 0t lthe shares Figure: skis 1a*f-rontalsview-of :the "arms hearing: the rotary cutters. ,r

Figure 5 is a horizontal section through line 5-5 of Figure 1 and showsthe transmission mechanism attached to the bearers of the rotarycutters. Figure 6 is a horizontal section showing the manner in whichthe stationary blade is attached to the plow share.

Referring to the drawing we have that l indicates the plow beam, 2 isthe plow share or spur,

3 is the extension of the share and 4 the plow slade. The blade 5 isattached at a convenient angle to the end of the share and to the plowbeam at the plow throat; 6 indicates the rotary cutters and thesupporting arms for the same are indicated by I, while 8 identifies thecountersunk rivets that serve to attach cutters 6 to arms I and 9indicates the hub from which project arms I, said hub being provided atits central portion with perforation 10. In the upper part of the plowbeam I, in the portion of it that forms the throat of the plow ismounted casing II that serves to enclose pinion l2 and I3 and also thegrease employed in their lubrication, the front of said casing beingclosed by cover or cap [4 attached to it by bolts I5 and nuts I6, withinsaid casing H is mounted ball bearing H attached to one end of shaft 18to which is attached pinion l3. Shaft i8 is prolonged through bushing I9in which is lodged ball bearing 20 supporting shaft l8 which in itsouter end terminates in a portion of reduced diameter 2!, said reducedportion penetrating snugly in perforation of hub 9 from which projectradially arms I to which are attached cutter blades 6, said hub 9 beingfirmly attached to reduced portion 2| of axle 18 by nut 22 screwed tothe threaded end of said portion 2| and by a keyway and cotter key.

This rotary cutter mechanism is protected by cover 23 secured to plowbeam l by screws and supporting and reinforcing members 24 and 25.

From casing ll there extends outwardly a In Figure l is shown the strawor cane leaf litter 50 being raised from the ground by stajournal box 26in which is lodged ball bearing 21 in which is journaled shaft 28 to theinner end of which is attached pinion [2, which meshing with pinion l3transmits motion to shaft [8.

At the end of plow beam l we have, first bead plate 29 firmly attachedto beam l by screws 30, to the outer face of said plate 29 is adjustablyconnected bearing plate St to the upper end of which is attached bearingbox 32 provided with ball bearing 33, said bearing plate 3| beingvertically adjustable by means of bolts and nuts 34 that play in slot 35to allow the position of shaft 28 to be changed at will, raising orlowering it as the case may be, to allow for coupling adjustments,immediately adjacent to bearing box 32 is located a section of shaftarticulated by Cardan joints 36 and 31 with an intermediate telescopicsection 38, said connecting articulated shaft ending in a cup shapedcoupling portion 39 provided with pin 40.

Lastly this portion of the plow beam I is provided with flanges 4|pierced by bolts 42 which also pierce a free plate 43 so that incombination with nuts 44 they form an adjusting clamp; at a suitabledistance from said clamp and in alignment with it is located a secondclamp formed by plates 45 and 46, bolts 41 and nuts 48, said secondclamp being supported by supporting member 49 and reinforcements 25attached to cover 29 and to the plow beam.

The stationary blade 5 is disposed at a convenient inclination with itslower end close to the spur or end of the plow share and attached to itby rivets.

tionary blade 5 till said litter reaches position 52 within range ofrotary cutting blades 6.

After being cut, the litter of straw falls back to its originalposition, again forming a thick cover ing for the ground as shown at 53.

In Figure 3 a circular saw 5! is shown, in dotted lines, said saw may beemployed in substitution of the cutting blades to which we have referredbefore.

Having described my invention, I claim as mine and desire that theLetters Patent issued cover the contents of the following claims:

1. In a cultivator plow, a plow beam, a plow share attached to saidbeam, a straight stationary cutter attached at an angle to said plowshare adjacent the forward end thereof and to said plow beam at the plowthroat, said stationary cutter being inclined upwardly and backwardlyfrom said plow share, a shaft rotatably journalled on said plow beam inproximity to the throat thereof, a plurality of cutting bladesconstituting a rotary cutter secured to said shaft, said blades beingdimensioned to extend approximately to the middle of said stationarycutter and remote from ground to be plowed, means for rotating saidrotary cutter, said blades coacting with said stationary cutter in theupper portion thereof, said stationary cutter in the lower portionthereof constituting an inclined plane t. raise litter from the groundand bring it to a point thereon where said blades of said rotary cutter,by coaction with said stationary cutter, will cut the litter.

2. In a cultivator plow as claimed in claim 1, said rotary and saidstationary cutter being located on the side of said plow opposite tothat to which the mold board of said plow turns the furrow slice.

3. In a cultivator plow as claimed in claim 1, and wherein said rotarycutter comprises a circular saw coacting with said stationary cutter,the lowermost portion of said circular saw extending approximatelymidway down the length of said stationary cutter.

GUILLERMO DIAZ ALVAREZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany Sept. 13, 1915

